Beast and the Harlot
by penpaninuSessh
Summary: A different take on Beauty and the Beast inspired by the Disney film and the 1946 film. Belle is a courtesan, working to pay her father's hospital bills. The Beast forms a tenative relationship with her; love and lust develop over time.


Author's Note: The title for this ficcie comes from an Avenged Sevenfold song title, of all things. I saw that title…and this is what came out! Ya can't blame my animation-inspired mind. I hope you all enjoy, take a glass of wine, sip…lean back….and prepare to be indulged. This is for all Beauty and the Beast fans and the song your heart makes. I wrote this last winter and thought it should be seen. Don't tell me you haven't considered this pairing!

"Beast and the Harlot"

A Beauty and the Beast one-shot

By penpaninu

Belle watched herself in her looking glass and turned her head from side to side. Her hair was artfully pulled back with random locks laying out, giving a casual appearance to her painted face. Her wide brown eyes, which made all men want to fall into, were expertly brushed with shadow; her cheeks were lightly blushed. A natural flush added to the make-up, giving her a healthy, rosy demeanor. Her lips were painted a deliberate but subtle red, and Belle smiled.

She smoothed her hands down her elaborate dress, which in all practicality was a lot easier to unfasten than indicated. The neckline opened to a careful display of subtle cleavage, not as deeply cut as the Blond triplets who worked the main floor, but was still enough to give a tantalizing hint of what was to come.

Belle put her hand over the flat tummy her corset displayed and turned sideways, inspecting herself further. Those Bimbettes, really, a hint to sex appeal was what made her the best courtesan in the bordello. And her beauty far exceeded her deeds, as she rarely had to leave her chambers to secure a man to fill her slot for the night. The bordello owner's husband always had a book of appointments for men who asked specifically for her, and would come upstairs directly.

And since she seemed to bring in the wealthiest clientele, she was allowed to stay in her room as she saw fit.

'It was a fairly lucrative life,' Belle thought, 'if exotically provincial.'

The men were instructed never to hit the girls, and for the most part behaved as gentlemen for what they wanted of her. Well, until they resorted to their animal sensibilities in the middle of it all. Apparently they thought they must consort as beasts in the midst of pull and thrust as if their howling and huffing were to turn her on more. Belle sighed and sucked a fingertip between ruby red lips.

If they would only get a clue….

She had yet to meet a customer that made her burn with need and desire. Oh, they desired HER readily enough, but she always had to drink a few glasses of wine before getting down to brass tax; and all just to get into the mood.

It was a whore's life, however. 'Women don't get into this to look for passion or love,' Belle thought. 'And Papa… his illness needs the money I make.'

A knock sounded at the door. Belle straightened and made sure she was perfect.

"Yes?" she asked.

"Appointment for you, Belle," the nasal, nervous voice of the Madame's husband rang through. "One Prince Adam…"

A name of nobility she didn't know. Belle looked over the room quickly. "Send him in straight away," Belle called. She uncorked a bottle and began to pour two glasses when the door opened.

"Monsieur Adam…."she began, but it was Madame's skinny husband.

He cut a shambled figure, with ragged shirt sleeves and threadbare coat. His long hair fell in scraggily lines across his shoulders instead of tied back in the societal fashionable tail.

"Sir, I've received nobility before! I think it's going to be fine," Belle tried to assure him away.

"I know, Miss Belle, it's just…" the husband looked both ways as if fear of being overheard, and hissed in a whisper, truly vague words. "This one is….different…and if you need the bouncer, please, just call out!"

There were two or three burly men who patrolled each floor ensuring the courtesan's safety. Belle rarely had need to call for immediate aide; and since she did not, the guards always frequently checked on her if a customer were to stay over for the entire night in her bed. Belle had the sneaking suspicion it was more to sneak a peek at her partially or fully un-dressed, but at least help was there should she need it.

"I will, sir! Please… just send him in," Belle gestured and smoothed her hands over her dress. An eternity seemed to pass, small shuffles in the hallway alert to her attention. What was taking so long?

Finally, the doorknob turned. At last! Belle stood straight and ready, her hands playing with the waist of her dress. For extra measure, she arched a bared shoulder slightly.

"Welcome, Lord A…." a high gasp keened the rest of her words to an inarticulate cry. It was not the usual man or lordling that came to her door…but…. A beast! A creature of hulking height, large eyes and broad teeth…..a fur-covered monster! Belatedly, her frightened mind noted the trousers, waistcoat and cravat. What in all hell had she gotten herself into?

"S-stay back!" Belle squeaked and held one of the goblets up for a shield. The Beast raised a paw up….a paw! Each digit was capped by a long and very sharp claw!... and stepped forward.

"I am sorry my appearance is distressing….believe me, Belle, I wish I didn't have cause to frighten you so."

Such a gruff voice! Not just the words…as articulate as any prince's… but he was SPEAKING! Speaking! Belle's mouth opened and closed, her hands moving to her face. The goblet dropped and bounced on the thick oriental carpet as the door was clicked shut by one of those large paws. She closed her eyes and pressed her forehead tightly to her palms. Again and again, she squeezed.

Then she slowly opened her eyes.

The Beast was still there. And he seemed to be waiting for something. Her eyes nervously fell to his naked, clawed feet, devoid of boots any man would wear. Her fear was a really wild thing, making her legs tremble and her vision sway. Her breath came rapidly and hitched when the Beast moved closer, one paw outstretched….

He was going to TOUCH her…!

Belle half fell in a swoon and half-consciously felt strong arms loop around her shoulders, gently lifting. "Hold on, Belle! Just hold on…"

One huge arm, as strong as unyielding as a brick wall, swung under her legs and Belle was aware of her hair falling past her shoulders. She was being lifted and placed up on the bed more gently than she would have believed. Belle exhaled, color returning to her vision. A clean earthy smell, like the fresh fall of forest leaves, reached her nostrils. Beside her arm, the elaborate sleeve of the Beast's waistcoat.

Her eyes traced the intricate needlework; traveled up to his furred, distorted visage. Astonishingly bright blue eyes, as crisp as snow under a full moon's light, gazed into her brown orbs.

The Beast blinked quickly and averted his gaze. He swept down on one knee into a quick but elegant bow, going ackwardly on one bare, furred leg. They were distorted in shape, resembling more a dog or wolf's hindquarter. He seemed to be having a hard time holding his position, but hold it, he did.

"Are you alright, Belle?" he asked, his gruff voice intoning. Belle's mouth opened and closed.

"I…I… what are you?"

"I am a Beast," the Beast smiled sadly. "It is what I am."

"But…aren't you a…"

"Lord? It is my title," the Beast… Lord Adam?... rose up from the floor. Belle gaped up at him and scrambled to sit up. The bed was high up, but she still had a way to go to match his impressive height.

"You signed as Lord Adam," Belle said. It just didn't seem right to call him by name at this point. The Beast…or Lord… smiled, and it was a strange sight. His lips pulled, two long teeth poking from the lower. He didn't seem to be going to eat her in the next moment.

"You can call me just the Beast."

Belle slowly nodded. "Very well… "Immediately the thought scrambled up from the depths, wondering what exactly he wanted and her heart sank. He did buy a night in her room…but…she wouldn't even know HOW to…!

The Beast sensed her renewed anxiety and moved to the sidebar. "I came only for your time, and we may merely talk. That is all, Belle."

Belle breathed a quiet sigh of relief, failing to notice the sad look in the Beast's eyes. "Very well; what would you like to talk about?" Belle asked sweetly. The Beast lifted the bottle of wine and gestured.

"May I?"

At Belle's nod, he poured himself a full goblet. He began to fill one for Belle but she waved her hand. "That won't be necessary, Monsieur Beast."

The Beast toasted her silently with the goblet and took a careful sip, maneuvering around his ackward teeth. This gesture seemed endearing and Belle relaxed.

"Well, I noticed you from afar and wished to meet you."

"You have?" Belle had to wonder how often she was viewed from her window ledge, or on the main floor. Someone would have definitely noticed HIM!

"Well, you seem to be an avid reader…"

The window ledge, then. Belle enjoyed the evening air and often took thick books to peruse there when she had the time around the men. She smiled genuinely, relaxing.

"I am! Have you read…?" At the listing of the title, the Beast smiled.

"Of course. It has been awhile but…"

The evening passed in camaraderie and good conversation, and Belle hadn't had to loosen her corset once. All the other men, human beings all, had beastly intentions always and never wanted to converse further than pillow talk. She could honestly say it was a welcome turn of pace even if he was a bit different.

As the morning light began to fill the room, Belle yawned behind her hand. The Beast's eyes crinkled and he clenched a pocket watch in his vest pocket.

"My apologies, Belle; I've kept you far too long."

"No need to apologize, Monsieur!" Belle stood and walked closer, with the pretense of saying goodbye. The Beast swallowed noticeably and stepped closer. Belle looked up into his strange countenance, brown eyes thoughtful. His blue eyes pierced her and she could barely breathe.

The moment ended as a knock sounded loudly on her door. Warning time to end session, or a check-in. "Belle, are you well in there?" Dick asked. Belle turned from the Beast (who was fluttering his hands) and nodded.

"I'm fine! We were just…ending our time!"

The Beast nodded, his eyes downcast. "Well, goodnight," Belle said. The Beast held his paw out and after the briefest moment of hesitation, Belle placed her hand into it. Her slender digits lay small in his large palm. The Beast lifted her hand as if to kiss, then merely held it and bowed carefully over the top. Belle inclined her head as well, and swept her skirts down in an elaborate curtsy.

Before the Beast could reach for the door, it clanged open and the tall form of Dick filled the frame. His eyes darted, noting her clothed form, and the Beast about to depart.

"Alright then, you, it's time to say goodbye," Dick ordered, barely cordial. Belle clasped her hands before her waist and waited as the Beast swept past the orange-bearded man, his cloak floating around him as if it were a living thing. She moved to the wardrobe, ignoring Dick who lingered a moment longer than necessary.

"Are you alright, Belle?" he asked. Belle smiled and nodded.

"Just fine, Dick…just fine."

"Now, you call me if he ever comes back! I'll take care of 'im," Dick puffed his broad chest out. Belle nodded and pulled her jeweled hair pin out. Dark hair cascaded over her bared shoulders.

"Thank you…..now please, let me rest. And tell Gaston I don't need him checking on me, either," Belle inquired, her voice firming at the last. The guards all had a thing for her, Gaston especially. Sometimes he barged into her room unannounced in her resting hours, and Madame didn't do a thing about it.

'And why wouldn't she?' She was swept away by his handsome looks like everybody else. Belle unfastened her dress after Dick shut the door. She undressed and washed the make-up from her face, contemplating her night. It sure was a strange one. Oh, she was frightened at first, but as the hours went by, she had felt almost at ease conversing with a beast.

Belle pulled a simple nightgown over her head and contemplating reading another chapter before bed. She decided to forego it as exhaustion set in…the life of a courtesan was long hours as it was.

As Belle pulled the heavy covers back, she couldn't help thinking of soft, blue eyes.

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"Appointment for you, Belle; a Monsieur Le'frac," Madame's emaciated husband read from his ledger. Belle sighed and unfastened the first two buttons of her bodice automatically.

"Thank you, sir…please, let him in." Not the Beast then. And tonight more would be expected of her. The door closed behind Madame's husband and reopened in a hurry. A clean-shaven grinning man stood framed, and he closed the door in a hot second.

"Miss Belle, it is an honor to meet you," he drawled, sweeping his hat down in a bow that reeked of mockery. Belle curtsied and moved to the sidebar. She was going to need a few rounds now.

"And you as well, Monsieur Le'frac. Would you like some wine?"

"Oh, whichever you prefer," Le'frac purred. Belle handed him a glass and after he clinked, sipped hers hurriedly. Warmth began to flush through her body. Good. She poured herself another glass and sipped as Le'frac finished his.

"And where have your travels taken you, Monsieur?" Belle inquired politely, opening up the intended events with some small talk.

Le'frac loosened his cravat and pulled Belle close with an arm around her slim waist. "Why, closer to you, my dear…"

Belle tried not to roll her eyes and held his smoothly shaven cheek in one hand. She leaned up to begin kissing him as Le'frac pulled at the fastenings to her dress.

Blue eyes stared in the darkness of her thoughts as Belle danced the familiar routine of clench and thrust, her mind taking her far from the attentions done upon her body.

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The past few weeks went by in a blur. Only a handful of nights were allotted by the Beast's appointments, and Belle's heart now began to leap when Madame's bent husband read "Prince Adam" from his ever-present ledger. Moreover from her usual appointments, the Beast treated her with carefully extended dignity. He was cordial and kind, and never advanced toward her.

Despite her sensibilities, Belle felt herself warming toward him. Her skin tingled where his fur rasped against her fingers when he held her hand. After each time with the others, Belle found herself wondering what his fur would feel like… everywhere….what his torso would look like beneath the shirt and coat, how his kiss would be.

Half an hour one night was spent studying his broad sash and how to go about unfastening it. When the Beast asked if she was alright, Belle had hurriedly looked up into his eyes and smiled that she was.

But she wasn't… not really. When she was with men she didn't truly desire, she felt stagnant. Around him, she felt more whole. Her whole body sang with this emotion, and she wanted to act upon her want.

Societal ties warred in her mind and preyed upon her heart. If Madame's husband and Dick noticed what the Beast really was, then the other staff had to know it, too. Would she be turned out for consorting with an animal? Would the Beast be hurt….even be killed?

And Gaston HAD been acting uglier and more curt with her. It was well known that she did no more than talk with the Beast, but where she to do more, she honestly feared for his safety, as well as her own.

But possibly she could run away with him….together they could….the thought of her father always countered this dream like a splash of cold water to the face. Her papa needed the money she made for his stay in the special hospice in Switzerland. He was sick and his illness so rare that he needed to stay there, as it was one of the only facilities in Europe to house the sufficient and radical treatment he needed. And that meant it was more than costly.

Belle inspected her appearance for the night and sighed as she thought of her heart's contents. Her father…. and the Beast. His hospital bills cost a princely fortune, which was how she had gotten into her line of work to begin with. Maurice would have left the hospice within an instant of learning how she footed the bill, so Belle had lied in letters, saying she worked as secretary for a wealthy merchant. If only this were so!

Madame's husband poked through and read her nightly appointment. When "Prince Adam" was read, she relaxed, yet a claw of fear then squeezed her heart. Why was Madame's husband smiling so smugly? What was so wrong? Her stomach dropped like a stone when the Beast stumbled in, holding himself stiffly as if in pain.

The door shut behind the scrawny man and Belle started with a loud rustle of skirts. She landed on the knob and locked it hurriedly. "Beast! What is it? What's wrong?"

The Beast hung his head, shadowed deep beneath the cowled hood. "It is nothing, Belle….do not worry over me."

"How can you say that? Come, pull your hood back… I need to see." Belle stood on tiptoes, reaching uselessly for his hood. He was just so tall. The Beast sighed and pushed it back, revealing his furred visage for Belle to see. Belle gasped.

His lip was bleeding, split from a sound blow. One eye was welling shut from a blackened pocket, and from the way he held his stance, Belle knew the blows extended everywhere. Her heart swelled and she grasped the front of his shirt with desperate hands.

"Oh, Beast! Who's done this to you?" she demanded, helping him to walk. The Beast limped, his paw falling to her bared shoulder for balance; then falling off immediately as if burned. Belle's skin tingled hotly where it had lain.

"You would not want me to say…..it was…" here the Beast hissed as Belle sat him on the edge of her wide bed. Both paused, noting the symbolic inclination. For the briefest of instants, hope flared within both hearts….

"It was…. Unprecedented," the Beast finished, dumping a bucket of cold water over the dream. He flushed as Belle turned his face to her, inspecting his eye and lip. Her small fingers cupped his cheeks, her own gaze sorrowful.

"I can't help but wonder…. If your visits will diminish after tonight…."

'If I'll ever see you again...'

"Was it Gaston and Dick?" Belle turned and poured her nightly pitcher into a basin, and wet a cloth. Carefully she dabbed at his lip.

The Beast's one undamaged eye found hers, the blue as sorrowful as an uneasy tide as she tended to him. He nodded once.

"And the other guards… I paid handsomely to see you… for I fear for my life if I ever come back." The Beast's chest heaved beneath his shirt front. Indeed, he felt his heart was breaking. "But I couldn't leave you without saying….. I don't want to leave you to…."

'To all of this...'

Belle pressed her face to his shirt front and embraced him carefully. Her small frame rose and fell in her quiet breaths, then her small hands clenched in his shirt. Beast's hands rose and hovered over her small shoulders, hesitant to touch her. Why was she..?

"Please, don't leave me," Belle begged. "You can't just leave me…"

'You're the only one that understands me.'

"…And I want to go with you."

"You…would come with me?" the Beast's heart thudded wildly, his head swimming with hope. Belle lifted her face from his shirt front and looked up into his wondering countenance, her gaze serious. Her cheeks were slightly flushed, making her more wildly beautiful.

"Yes… I want to come away with you. They'll hurt you if I stay here…and… you've changed me," Belle whispered. Blue eyes seared into brown.

"Belle? What are you…" the Beast whispered. Belle leaned up and closer, her fingers holding his face steady.

"I don't want to keep doing this…." Sex with numerous men she cared nothing for. "But I want to….."

'With YOU…'

Her lips parted and eased up onto his. For once, she wanted to do what was expected in this bed; she wanted HIM. She wanted his heart, everything there was of him. Belle attentively kissed him, tasting the copper taste of blood from his cut lip; she hungrily kissed him further.

His breath smelled better than she had initially thought and his lips were very soft. The Beast's lower teeth were sharp, but only the briefest of obstacles. Belle felt him move them carefully against her as he kissed her back. They moved closer together and when Belle thought her mind would explode, and as she crawled onto the bed….the Beast pulled back.

"Belle…" his chest was heaving noticeably. Belle couldn't help but stare, wondering what his furred torso would look like without that dratted shirt in the way. The Beast climbed off the edge of the bed and away from her. Belle's lips opened with an unspoken protest.

"You shouldn't be too close to me…I am a beast…"

Belle walked toward him, resolute desire firming her steps. Her eyes locked with his wide blue worlds of desire. "You are more kingly than any man," she whispered.

"They will hurt you…" The Beast backed up, trying to make her see reason.

"But I'm leaving with you tonight…" Belle stopped within a foot of him. Her dress' fastenings loosened as if by thought alone. Her bodice fell around her breasts and she held it to herself shyly. The Beast looked down despite himself; his tail swished and his breathing sounded labored.

"_I_ would hurt you…" and this time what he implied was readily brought foremost to attention. Belle leaned up and pressed into his chest, her fingers caressing his shirt along his sides. Fur rustled beneath the fabric, tickling her fingertips. The embrace nettled his bruised body, she could see that, but he did not move away from her.

"You could never hurt me…_.please… "_

Belle stood on tiptoes and pulled him down to kiss her. The Beast's large hands finally pressed against her shoulders and back, melding her against him. His brooch was unfastened, his cape pooling down around their feet.

"Belle…" her name sounded a mantra upon his lips. How he had longer for her! Belle's clever fingers worked his cravat loose, and his shirt open. It hung half open, baring a portion of his furry chest to her. Belle's fingers worked into the slide and warmth of his texture, curiously. The Beast's blue eyes looked into hers patiently, but seriously, before passion rocked his niceties momentarily. He pulled her up to kiss him, his clawed hands cupping her gently to him. Belle felt the sharpness of those claws, but didn't fear them once.

She gasped wordlessly into his mouth when her stomach was pressed up against a hardened part of his anatomy. Wordlessly she looked down, then up into his impassioned gaze. Her slack arms dropped her loosened bodice around her waist and the Beast stared fully down her half-bared body, taking in her naked breasts.

Bell e arched in his hands as he bent and buried his face against her breasts; her upturned throat un-bottled a small cry. His lips were gentle against her, and his fur brushed her nipples. She thrummed and stood helplessly as her dress was loosened completely, falling around her feet. Clad only halfway into her silk under shift, Belle clung to her Beast as he picked her up and placed her on the edge of the bed where he had been recently sitting. He stood between her spreading legs, the bed's height placing her directly in the right place.

They kissed hungrily, and Belle rubbed her face wordlessly against his chest, her face red as she worked upon his sash. Heated flesh was pushing the lap of his trousers noticeably. The Beast paused, his mouth agape in wordless arousal as Belle pushed his trousers down and handled him with trembling hands. His claws held her hips; his goatee brushed her brow.

"Belle… we don't have to…" he whispered hoarsely. Belle looked down and studied him. He was smooth, unlike the rest of him, thick and formidable; but she doubted she would be unable to accommodate him. There had to be a way to this.

"_Please_," Belle trembled in his hands, her knees raising forward towards his hips. "I need you…"

The Beast's crystal blue eyes seared into her soul as she helped him enter.

"Oh!" he gasped. Just the tip… and he noticeably held his breath as he pushed carefully. Only a portion of his girth and he felt a gentle nudge as Belle was filled. His chest concaved against her face and Belle's thighs trembled as she clung to him, internally and with her hands scraping against his sides helplessly. Her fingers dug into his fur with rasping tugs. She had never been this filled in her life and looking at the junction between them, saw her knees were far from being pressed against his sides, a portion of his base visible between their joining.

It didn't stop her from moving against him and the Beast's eyes closed, his mouth agape as Belle rolled against him, keeping the front portion of him locked inside.

"Oh, _mon dieu_," he intoned, warm rumbles erupting from his heaving chest.

Belle moved against him with shorter jerks. The Beast's hands held her hips as if to still her, but she worked onto what she could hold faster. Passion burned through her stomach and the Beast began to lose more of his self control. He moved carefully with all the intentions NOT to tear her apart, but his hips were moving forward and Belle's toes were clawing the air. Sweat rolled down her breasts and her face shone under droplets of dotted perspiration.

The Beast's fur grew moist as his heated body perspired against her. Desperate need to reach something…. Something…. Each other…?, forced their jerking movements until Belle stiffened, her toes scraping a portion of the Beast's trousers. Her eyes locked onto his with a wordless gasp as she held onto him. The Beast grunted, his blue eyes drowning in hers… closer…. Closer…

With a wild cry, Belle clutched his shirt and held on for dear life riding his movements. Lights flashed behind her eyes and she squeezed hard, knowing she would be more than sore for it later, but not caring at the moment. In the spasm of her release, the Beast came with a light roar, his wet fur standing out in wild waves across his chest.

An orgasm…. She'd had an orgasm with him. It was rare any man could turn her on enough to come, but he….

Belle flopped onto her back, her chin turned up as she quaked in heart-wrenching gasps. She felt their wetness slide around her inner thighs as he pulled himself out gently. His bass rumbles soothed her heart, filled her with his wordless lullaby. She looked up through hazy slit eyes to see the Beast lying on his side beside her, being careful not to fall and crush any part of her. A concentrated look of loving awe on his face, his ran a large paw through her loose hair.

"And this is why you must leave this place. Belle, come with me."

"I am coming with you. I will go anywhere with you," Belle touched his cheek.

With light kisses and gentle touches, the two re-dressed and were once more presentable. The Beast clasped her hands in his. "Have you everything you need?" he asked almost shyly.

Belle swept a look around her courtesan's chambers and nodded. "Only Papa's letters… but they can keep everything else. I have everything I need," she whispered. She retrieved them and held them to her bosom. The Beast clasped her close, and swept her up, bridal-style into his arms. Belle clutched the parchment of her letters and laughed in wonder.

"Then let us leave, now! My kingdom is beyond the clouds on France's highest mountain peak," the Beast roared and before Belle's astonished eyes, whisked the both of them off the window balcony and through the very air of the night! The full moon shone, the stars twinkled and clouds rushed past.

"How are you doing this?" she gasped, her arms sliding around his thick neck. Her hair ruffled past her shoulders. The Beast laughed, drunk on her and their love.

"I don't know! I was just told when I met my true love, we would fly on passion's wing to mind castle…"

"So you really are a prince?" Belle asked, looking at his twisted face curiously. This was just getting better and better.

The Beast turned, his blue eyes engulfing hers. She froze, enchanted in their gaze. "You will find out, won't you?" he promised. Belle clung to the Beast as they soared upon the wind.

An unspoken whisper hung from his lips.

"I love you….."

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"He's still up there."

"So it's decided then," Dick said. He heaved his cudgel against his broad shoulder, bearded face stretched in an ominous grin.

"We'll make him sorry he thought to come," another guard, Tom, agreed. The short buck-toothed man tapped his cudgel against his palm.

"No creature thinks to consort with our girl!" Stanley, the pudgiest of the trio seen together, put in.

"Least of all not our Belle," Gaston vowed. He unsheathed a long knife and looked down its razor edge. His heart seized with jealousy and rage. The other guards nodded rapidly.

"Tonight, boys, we kill the Beast."

On their way upstairs en masse, they were halted by the Madame herself. She was a broad, round woman who out-shadowed her husband. He peered, dwarfed, around her. "And what do you think you're all doing?" she sang.

Gaston bowed courteously, but an unholy fire gleamed in his eyes. "We're going to take care of something that should have been taken care of long ago," he vowed. The Madame caught his meaning and folded her arms under her massive breasts.

"You mean that horrible beast? For the love of God, end that excuse for a man and be done with it! I'll have his head for thinking to buy the time of my most industrious girl!"

Gaston shrugged wide and nodded. "As you wish, Madame." He led his flunkies upstairs and banged on Belle's door.

"Belle? Open the door! Give up the Beast!" Gaston yelled. When no answer issued forth from within, the muscular man turned to his eager cohorts and gestured. "What are you waiting for? Break it down!" he ordered. The three men, one burly, one skinny and one pudgy, made a rather comical sight as they ran back and forth smashing themselves silly against the slab of wood. Finally, the offending barrier splintered in two, allowing an easy kick from Gaston's boot to crunch it inward.

The man rushed in, weapons raised, but there was no one on the bed, no one ready to face their battle cry. The room was empty. Belle and the Beast were gone.

"Belle!" Gaston yelled furiously. Dick turned and kicked over a chair just to be spiteful. But the men could do nothing but seethe in the wake of their defeat.

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Belle rolled against the Beast's front, rubbing her face against his shirt drowsily. Halfway to his castle, the Beast alighted down into a forest to rest for the rest of the night. They needn't worry about wild creatures for his land had been enchanted, the Beast had said. As Belle was turning this over in her mind… something almost clicked into place…. The Beast had turned her face up for a kiss.

Later as he had drifted to exhausted sleep, Belle had whispered a secret vow into his furry ear.

"I love you…."

She had then fallen asleep, wrapped in the Beast's massive cloak with him, a fire he had made flickering down beside them.

'It's definitely a romantic setting,' Belle thought, her hands sliding under the hem of the Beast's loose shirt. 'It was almost as romantic as…'

Her fingers scraped on smooth, bare skin. Belle's eyes snapped open. Smooth? Where was his fur? Belle stared, agape, into the face of a stubbled human man. His nose was long and articulate, his hair long and sandy brown. Her fingers had moved over his flat, pale stomach and the man smiled in his sleep.

Belle pulled from him in a gasp. The man blinked and smiled, opening his eyes. His vision opened to a frightened Belle pulling her dress around her, brandishing a stick between them.

"Who are you? Where's the Beast?" Belle demanded. Tears threatened to sting her eyes. "What have you done with him?"

"Belle…" the man held his hands up before him and his eyes widened. He reached to press smooth palms against his face and rolled his fingers across the expanse of his shirt front. "It's me!"

Before she could react, his hands were closed around hers and her stick fell, clattering at their feet to the forest floor. Belle's panic retreated at the feel of his touch….the firmness of the hands were the same as large paws… but the rest of him…

As she looked up into the handsome face, Belle noticed his long hair was the same shade as the Beast's fur… and was just as soft, her fingers noted as she ran a hand curiously through the tousled locks.

Then she looked into his eyes and a chill went through her spine. Shining blades of blue cut into her soul and told her heart this was who she had loved this very night.

"Beast? Can it be?" she whispered, stroking the raspy, unshaven cheek. The man's blue eyes kindly soothed her, making her melt. Belle fairly swooned in his hands, knowing her bodily reaction as the truth as well. Only the Beast had turned her on so…."It IS you!"

"Yes, Belle…. Your beast…." The man whispered. Slowly, he moved his lips down to hers…. So slowly lest he fear she take off running, Belle knew. Her lips opened under his and she clung to him, feeling his muscular form fold against her.

A high keening met their ears, forcing the two to separate. The forest sparkled and shimmered to life as unseen voices laughed and gibbered around them; it was a travesty of impossibility! Belle clung to her Man-Beast's shirt as they stared around them in wonder.

"What's going on?" Belle demanded. The Man-Beast laughed, sweeping Belle into his arms.

"It looks like you've broken the spell completely!" he cried. "My servants must be awakening and waiting for us."

"Beast…I never knew you to be…" Belle began but was shushed by a soft kiss.

"My name is Adam…remember? I wasn't lying in my registry," the Beast… Adam… shyly smiled, his blue eyes crinkling. Belle stroked his cheek, her gaze thoughtful.

"I think I like you better as my Beast."

"Belle!" Adam held her close, his gaze beseeching. "What a strange girl you are!" But he was silent when Belle leaned up and kissed him.

"Are you different in this form?" she asked inquisitively and a flush stained Adam's cheeks red.

"It is for you to find out, mon amor," Adam purred. "And it is a long way yet back to the castle…"

8

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Belle spent the rest of a VERY eventful morning in the naked limbs of her very impassioned and very human man; the man she had loved when he had been a beast. While she was secretly a little disappointed by the lack of fur, she was not by his sizing, nor the tender way he began. His girth had been monstrous in his other form, but he still filled her wonderfully as a man. The two moved and danced together, their moans rolling with their sweet ecstasy as they loved beneath the foliage of a gentle forest.

Finally, Adam fell to his elbows on top of her, his sweaty hair falling across Belle's face. She pressed her face to his bare shoulder and held him, the two basking in the spell of afterglow.

"I have wanted you for so long, my Belle," Adam groaned. He grinned like a boy into Belle's wondering gaze. She laughed and kissed him.

"Then you have me, my prince Beast," she sighed. Adam laughed, leaning his head against her neck.

"Is it always going to be that with you?" he inquired. Belle kissed him deeply, soothing his words to gentle stillness.

"You are as you are… and I love you for it," she said simply. Naked love shone in Adam's impressive eyes.

"Belle…"

"He must be around here somewhere!"

"The Master has broken the spell…he will be bringing his bride home at last!"

"Oh, I can hardly wait!"

"Come on, you have to meet her first…"

Belle and Adam stared at each other as the sounds of a rather sloppy search party drifted closer. They hastily jumped up and pulled their clothes back on before being discovered in a less than fortunate way.

"Are those your servants?" Belle whispered, tying her bodice up. Her arms reached around to her back to fully fasten her corset, and she paused, not quite reaching the strings. "Help me!"

Adam pulled his trousers up, stuffing a handful of his shirt down beneath the sash, and rushed to aide Belle. "They are, my love… Do not be nervous, they will love you on first sight," he assured her.

"I'm worried about them meeting me in the throes of our passion!" Belle corrected, whisking her hair out of Adam's way, then tying it back hastily when he was done. Adam fooled with his cravat and looked for his waistcoat. It billowed over him now, so he left it on the grass.

Belle turned to him and they grinned like happy children.

"Shall we call out to them, my love?" Belle asked.

Adam put his arm around her waist and the two walked toward the arguing voices. "I am more than ready…"

"Master! It is you!"

"You must be our new princess, welcome!"

Adam's voice rolled over the servant's with a booming laugh. "Lumiere, Cogsworth, Mrs. Potts, Babette!" he swept an arm wide. "Meet Belle, the girl who broke the spell."

The End

End Author's Note: Oh yeah, I finally let my mind go there. And it was a well-worth-it trip. The Beast you see here has elements from the original fairytale where he is cordial and polite to win Beauty's favor. In Disney movie-versions, it would be where he softens and falls in love on his part, around the library and "Human Again" section.

I like how I was able to work in elements from the 1946 live action version as well. I finally saw it recently for the first time and was blown away. And Belle's reaction to meeting him, by way of fainting, seems more plausible and realistic. I know it's not good for a girl to faint in a Disney film, but that part made me nod. And not to mention the whole flying away into the night thing! At the end of the film, Belle says to the prince that she liked him as the Beast, almost better? That has been my thought since seeing the Disney version for the first time as a kid. I was so fascinated by the Beast, his trial and turmoil and tenderness, that when he transformed, I was like… "Eh, nice for Belle?" Who IS that guy? He should have stayed as the Beast!

And I always thought the prince's nose was too big, even if the transformation scene was so well drawn, with so much emotion, that it still chills my blood to this day.

For some of the Beast's more cornier lines, I kept hearing Terrence Mann's performance of him on the Broadway musical soundtrack. You know, like where he's yelling "OH YES!" to going to dinner with Belle. Hehehhe….

Then there's not to mention borrowing a lyric of Belle's of how he's "changed her."

I hope you all enjoyed and please, review, review! If this made your day, then please, I invite you to make mine.


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